I'd Have A Black Christmas Without You
by Smilindolfin
Summary: Andromeda hasn't seen Lucius in almost a year. Their families are pressuring them to marry and Andy is feeling particularly alone. What happens when her mother delivers a tall order: Charm Lucius Malfoy by the end of the evening. Can Andromeda make sense of her wild emotions - can she trust Lucius? Can she LOVE him? (Oneshot!) Christmas! Lucius/Andromeda


Darkness.

She was used to it. It almost felt safer than the light. The bright, blinding light that peeked through the rectangular strip under the door. She was hiding. Her legs drawn up, paying no heed to how her gown would wrinkle. _What did she care about the gown anyway?_

Ah, but her mother cared. That thought alone was enough to encourage her to straighten her legs and smooth out the rumples before the silk became lined.

She was in the attic of the grand old house. No one came up here anymore – they thought it was infested with doxies. Which, it had been, before she and Sirius cleaned them all out. They came up here every year and exchanged gifts, just the two of them. Neither of them much liked spending time with their families anymore. Something had changed.

Their families were colder, harsher than usual. Talk of a Dark Lord smattered the polite chit-chat over spiked eggnog and cider. Out there in the light of the party was where the most frightening things happened. Where judgment was dealt with simpering smiles and exchanges of money. Not to mention the constant vying of families to get their daughters properly engaged to a Pureblood bachelor. Specifically Lucius Malfoy.

For this reason Andromeda Black sat, hidden in the darkness with only the golden light from her wand glowing from the floor. She sat in the eave of the window, reading under the stars one of the muggle books she'd gotten from Ted as a Christmas Present.

_A Christmas Carol_. It was a classic, he'd said. She had always loved muggle books – Ted got her one every year and she would hide them up in the attic where her mother couldn't burn them. She escaped in her books with the tales of muggle knights and ladies who didn't need magic to achieve great things. It was lovely, romantic, and completely the opposite of her home.

Andy could hear the tittering laughter of her mother, trying to finagle the Malfoys into tying their son down to one of her daughters. _To me, _Andy thought bitterly.

If anyone was fooled by Druella's sweet motherly act Andromeda would be surprised. Everyone knew she was one of the most dangerous witches alive. She far surpassed her husband, Cygnus, in her knowledge of the dark arts and she was as heartless as she was powerful. And she was bound and determined to unite the Black and Malfoy families if it killed someone.

Honestly, Andromeda really wouldn't put it past her mother to murder other potential matches to get her way.

She had hoped, for a while, that it would be Bella who married Lucius. But, she was happily engaged to Rodolphus Lestrange. He was a perfect match for her, the more Andy thought about it. He had been the one to suggest a _Stun the Muggle_ event at their engagement ball. The prizes (provided by the parents) were expensive and the two of them won them all.

Now, all eyes fell on Andy. She was next in line to be shuttled off to some man or another. Her parent's Christmas party was supposed to…._display_ her, for lack of a nicer term. But she had locked herself away out of sight and out of mind. The party had already started before they noticed she was missing. It would be rude to leave and find her, so her family was stuck.

But Andy was lonely.

She tapped on her book with her well-bitten nails. She chewed them when she was nervous, and there was hardly anything left.

Sirius wasn't here this year. There was no one to make fun of the old biddies with, no one to mock the extravagant (and quite frankly _alarming_) hats women wore to these functions. There was no one to take up her dance card to keep her away from Lucius. She was trapped. Alone and hiding from the light.

It was strange that she was so afraid of Lucius. He had been her closest friend growing up. But ever since Bella's marriage announcement he'd become distant. He was always busy – "Doing adult things now, Andy" he'd told her on more than one occasion when she'd owled.

After a while she gave up entirely. They'd had almost no contact for almost a whole year. Since last Christmas eve.

She'd still bought him a present though. It sat, there, in the corner. Bright green and silver paper tied with a red ribbon. The long thin box contained something she had spent months searching out. It was a one-of-a-kind gift. She'd almost forgotten about the new tension between them for a while because she was so excited to give it to him.

Last year it was a charmed peacock egg. It would hatch a white peacock that would live as long as it's master. She had seen it strutting around the lawns of Malfoy Manor the last time she visited. It had been a fuzzy little thing then. But it must have grown up by now…just like its master.

She had caught a glimpse of him entering her parent's house. He was dressed to the nines – all black of course. With a green ribbon holding back his silvery-blonde hair. He stood nearer to his mother than Abraxas and she noted he was taller than the wispy woman now. That meant he would more than tower over her.

Quick, tapping steps pulled Andromeda out of her reverie. Her mother had left the party?! Panic settled in the pit of her stomach. She had two choices now. Apparate to her room and accept her mother's wrath before joining her at the party or risk her mother finding out about her attic, her books, and her secrets – and then facing her wrath and joining the party.

Andy ran, collecting the package for Lucius in her arms and she dissapparated with a snap, reappearing in her room. She quickly knelt on the floor with the gift before her and fiddled with the bow. Perhaps her mother would think she had been wrapping all this time?

"Andromeda Black you open this door this instant or, Merlin help me, I will blast it down," her mother hissed from the hall.

Dutifully Andromeda opened it. She could see the evil glow of the party from below and she could smell wine ghosting around her mother like a sour perfume.

"You and I are going to have a very long _chat_ after this party, young lady. But first you will march yourself down there and dance with Lucius Malfoy if it kills you – do you understand?!"

Andy swallowed hard. **Chat** hardly ever meant there would be much talking. Usually it was her mother screaming coupled with Andy's body on fire from some spell or another. She'd lost track of her mother's favorites by now – she used so many…

"Yes, Mother," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. She collected Lucius' package in her arms once more and walked downstairs, her head held high. She was a Black after all, no one would see her cry. Ever.

She deposited the gift on the table in the hall and marched into the ballroom. She fixed her dark eyes on the tall blonde figure across the room. He was surrounded by tittering females all desperate to become his wife. They glided across the floor to him with the grace of dancers. Soft, subtle and demure.

Andromeda, however marched, pointedly up to him and grabbed his arm. Her dark, brash attitude so starkly different from the birds around him he had no choice but to look.

"I have been given an ultimatum, Lucius Malfoy. It involves you, me, and dancing. Would you like to be a gentleman and ask, or should I just drag you onto the floor for old time's sake?" she deadpanned, one dark eyebrow questing higher as she spoke.

The look on Lucius' face was priceless. It seemed somewhere between shock, amusement, and second-hand embarrassment. He followed her, almost numbly out onto the dance floor. It took him a moment to gather his wits whereupon he positioned a hand at the curve of her waist and one hand covered her smaller one. He swiftly took the lead as the music started and Andromeda settled into the rhythm of his dancing.

"Your mother threatened you into dancing with me?" He sounded amused, but his cerulean eyes were searching her dark ones. He wanted to know why she was avoiding him in the first place.

Andromeda's temper flared. "Well it's not like I was excited to see someone who's been avoiding me for a year!" she snapped, stepping on his polished shoe on purpose.

He continued unfazed, a soft sigh escaping his lips. "I told you, Andy…I had to take care of some things for my family. I've been securing their future. "I didn't want to avoid you…it was merely necessary to get the job done." As if realizing how cold he sounded, he added, "You distract me too much, Andy."

Andromeda felt her face heat despite herself. "You sure you're not just avoiding me so you don't have to get married yet?"

His wide eyed expression told all. "What? You didn't think I knew? They've been harping on me to impress you for weeks. I knew what was coming." She paused a moment dread building like black sludge in her heart. "….they've already arranged it haven't they? Set a date?"

Lucius nodded once, spinning her away and pulling her back. She crashed into his chest, her heart beating wildly, from his expertise or his answer, she couldn't tell.

"Are you so unhappy with the idea of marriage to me, Andy?" He asked after a moment. It sounded playful, aloof even, but she knew him well. Well enough to know better.

"No…it just seems very sudden…after 16 years of being friends…and growing up together – now we have to get married and have little blonde babies and it's a lot of pressure, Lucius." Everything seemed to tumble out all at once. All of her thoughts and fears cascaded from her lips before she could stop them.

_Why did you mention __**babies**__ 'Dromeda!?_

He chuckled as the dance ended. "You worry too much. I'm not too desperate to have my home infiltrated with little anything at the moment…so er…_babies_ are quite off the agenda, I assure you."

Andromeda let out a little laugh as they walked away from the bustle. "I…I got you a present," she said suddenly, to fill the silence. What else was one to say when you found out you were marrying your best friend?

"Did you now?" Lucius looked surprised. Truly surprised this time! "Well, yes! I suppose I would like it now. No sense in waiting is there?"

"You always have been impossibly impatient, Luc." Andy dashed off to the table and brought the long thin package back to the terrace where she'd left him. She had almost thought about running back to her hiding place, but it was all over and done with now. She could escape marriage if she wanted to. The darkness was only a blindfold. It didn't change the light it only kept it out of sight for a while.

"Here you go!" she beamed. Despite the awkwardness, she had been looking forward to giving this to him for months.

He took the package gingerly. "Andromeda it isn't a sword is it?" he asked warily.

Andy shook her head, her curls bouncing. "Just open it, you mandrake. Guessing isn't allowed."

Without further ado, he tore into the paper – meticulously wrapped, mind you – and pulled out a long thin box. He pulled it open, eyeing her suspiciously.

To be fair it _did _look a bit like a sword box, but it most definitely wasn't a sword.

"A...a cane?" he pulled the ebony stick from its velvet box and examined it. It was long and black, made from the finest ebony, and topped by a solid silver snake's head with emeralds for eyes. The head shone in the starlight out on the terrace and the snake almost seemed to be winking.

"It's for all of your old-man business!" She chirped before snatching it from him, busying herself to hide her fear. What if he didn't like it? "But it's not just a cane. Look!"

She grasped hold of the silver snake which adorned the head of the cane and it slid loose showing a hollow bottom where he could fit a thin length of wood. "It's a hiding place for your wand!"

She watched his face transform from polite confusion to excitement. Perhaps not all of him was strictly adult after all!

"OH! Andy it's beautiful! Where did you find it?" He withdrew his wand from his robes as he spoke, and set it into the snakes head. Andy finished it for him with a sticking charm.

She smiled. "I had it made. It's one of a kind! Happy Christmas, Lucius…but if you take it you have to promise to write me more often. School is boring without you."

Lucius watched her warmly and suddenly she was tugged forward by her hand.

She gaped at him, as he knelt on the cold marble floor. "Now…for your present. I hope...you like it?" He pulled a box from his coat pocket and opened it toward her. Within was nestled a silver ring with a small emerald settled at the apex. "I hope it makes up for having to be engaged to a distant "old man"?"

Andy's breath caught in her chest and she gingerly took the ring from its box and slid it onto her fourth finger. "You don't have to make up for it…"She said at last. "I…I think I'm glad to be marrying you, Lucius. You're my best friend…and…I've always loved you…" She whispered, her cheeks turning violently red.

Somehow it felt right, though. Standing with her hand in his, the ring hugging her finger like a promise. His blue eyes fixed on her and a smile on his lips.

"Good…then you won't mind if I-" he didn't even bother to finish before his lips descended to hers softly. It was a gentle kiss. Sweet and small. Just enough to mark the change their relationship would soon take.

It was such a small thing, but it left her breathless.

There on the dark terrace with their gifts in hand, Lucius and Andromeda fell in love.

Yes, Andromeda loved the dark.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hello everyone! Here's a little Christmas Romance for you! ^_^ Enjoy! <strong>


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